Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Asaram Bapu accused of unnatural sex !! TERRIBLE case : ".... On the night of August 15, bapu took the girl in his hut and allegedly exploited her sexually (unnatural sex)," said Joseph......"

From TOI Aug 22 2013

"......... On the night of August 15, bapu took the girl in his hut and allegedly exploited her sexually (unnatural sex)," said Joseph......"

"...........Police commissioner Biju George Joseph said, "We have registered the case against Asha Ram (sic) Bapu and handed over the investigation to a female police officer of ACP level.".........."

*********** full news ***********

Asaram booked for raping minor at ashram

Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN | Aug 22, 2013, 12.26 AM IST

The guru's spokesperson, though, has rubbished the claims, saying the "entire episode was fabricated".

NEW DELHI: Self-styled spiritual guru Asaram Bapu has been booked for sexual assault on a 16-year-old inmate at an ashram in Jodhpur run by the godman's trust.

The girl's family has alleged that the godman has refused to meet the girl and her family ever since the incident and that a couple of his aides were also involved.

The guru's spokesperson, though, has rubbished the claims, saying the "entire episode was fabricated".

The girl submitted a written complaint against Asaram at the Kamala Market police station in central Delhi on Tuesday evening. The girl, who hails from Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has alleged in her complaint that she was molested by the godman in his ashram. She has also said that when her father brought her to Delhi earlier this month to a camp at the Ramlila Grounds between August 18-20, Asaram left without meeting them. Her father then decided to lodge a complaint with the police.

"The girl says the incident took place on August 15 at Jodhpur. But Asaram Bapu left Jodhpur on August 11," Asaram's spokesman Sunil Wankhede told the media from Ahmedabad. "So how could this be true?" He added, "The girl registered the case in Delhi because Delhi is one place where police are bound to register an FIR of cases related to crime against women even without any investigation. We will take legal action against the girl."

Police commissioner Biju George Joseph said, "We have registered the case against Asha Ram (sic) Bapu and handed over the investigation to a female police officer of ACP level." He said that the police has provided security to the girl, adding that they secured the ashram at Manaiimmediately after receiving the information on Wednesday.

Joseph said that the girl, a class XII student at Asaram's gurukul at Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh, was studying there for the past 4 years. "Her health was not fine for some time and when her parents brought the matter to the notice of bapu, who was in Jodhpur then for religious meeting, he advised them to take the girl to Jodhpur."

When they took her to Jodhpur on August 12 and contacted Asaram, he said a special ritual will have to be observed for the betterment of her health, but in isolation. "Then he took them to his ashram at Manai on 14 August and observed the ritual with his parent on the same night. But next day, he said the second ritual will again have to be observed, but with the girl being alone with him in his hut. On the night of August 15, bapu took the girl in his hut and allegedly exploited her sexually (unnatural sex)," said Joseph.

The terrified girl, however, did not disclose the incident to her parents then, but when Asaram asked her to come with him to Ahmedabad, she insisted to her parents to go back to home instead, where she told them of the incident two days later.

Police said the victim's father had insisted that the case should be registered in Delhi as he feared it might not be investigated by the Rajasthan police. A Delhi police official said a case was registered but was later transferred to Jodhpur.

Delhi police have recorded the girl's statement under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code and a case has been registered under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and various sections of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act, said joint commissioner of police TajenderLuthra.

Asaram Bapu, who has a large following, was earlier in the news after the Gujarat police filed a case of attempted murder against him and two others. He was also accused of illegally acquiring land in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

After the December 16, 2012 gang-rape of a 23-year-old student in a bus in Delhi, Asaram Bapu attracted much attention for his remark that the victim could have escaped rape if she had called her attackers brothers, and pleaded to be let off